


Project Ar Fayra: Teaser

by Sami_Fire



Category: Promare (2019)
Genre: Gen, teaser
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-07
Updated: 2019-12-07
Packaged: 2021-02-26 07:22:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,072
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21699970
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sami_Fire/pseuds/Sami_Fire
Summary: A demo run of a project that intends to splice elements from the Ar Tonelico game series, such as Song Magic and Hymmnos Theory, into Promare's setting. This teaser adapts the scene with the Burnish in the cave. More details in the notes.
Kudos: 3





	Project Ar Fayra: Teaser

**Author's Note:**

> This fic is essentially a teaser/"trailer" to test run some of the concepts that will be deployed in the actual Ar Fayra fanfiction. When this scene appears in the work itself, it may be changed a little to fit the expanded context of the full story. Here you get a little taste of the song magic being blended into Promare's setting, along with the differences between Burnish song magic and the regular type. Stay tuned for the full fic later!

When Galo awoke inside the cave, it was to peaceful tones of manifested song magic and the sight of people gathered around a Burnish flare.

Before he could react too strongly, Lio’s low voice cut through the air. “You’re awake,” he said from his perch atop a rocky outcropping.

Galo struggled against bound wrists that he was only freshly aware of. “You’re the Mad Burnish’s boss!” He shouted, trying to move and failing.

“My name is Lio Fotia. Memorize it,” Lio said flatly. “Be quiet. We’re having a meal.”

“You guys need to eat?” Galo asked, even though he had a faint idea that he was going to regret that. Out of the corner of his eye, he thought he saw a bag full of canned goods.

The shift in Lio’s mood was palpable and immediate. His eyes widened and his whole body seemed to bristle at the gall of Galo’s question. “What do you think we are? We are human beings. If we don’t eat, we die.” The song magic skipped and distorted as Lio’s emotions warped it, and a small Burnish flame shot out at Galo and burst near his head.

Galo did indeed regret his question, crying out when he got the equivalent of a very hot slap in the face. As he recovered, the pleasant tones and gentle singing resumed. Lio’s focus seemed to be on keeping the song going more than dealing with him.

_xA rre exali fayra wLYErm innna mean zess sarr/.  
(The brilliant fire warms us from within, like a sun.)_

_sAnYEs ag yAyYE mean dea fayra/.  
(I will connect and heal us through that flame.)_

“Sorry,” Galo mumured at last as he listened. The song felt beautiful and pure, and it was in a different language than the Standard Hymmnos he used for song magic. Try as he might, he couldn’t parse the new language at all. “What kind of song is this? It sounds really nice.”

“I’m aware that it’s different from my usual,” Lio said, not even looking Galo’s way. “This is a song of healing. It uses the connection between Burnish to soothe our hearts. Whatever gave us our song magic unites us in a way your regular song server cannot.”

“Okay, but… what is it saying? I don’t know your weird Burnish language,” Galo said, shifting as he tried to focus on the song once more.

Lio sighed and shook his head. “The New Burnish Testament is a language only the Burnish know.” He paused to look at Galo for a moment. “Tell me something. How do you say ‘I will become a song’ in Standard Hymmnos? Even you should know that.”

“ _Was yea ra chs hymmnos mea_ ,” Galo said with no hesitation. “How do you guys say it, then?”

“ _cEzE hymmnos_ ,” Lio replied, and the current song magic seemed to increase in volume briefly. “If the core of Standard Hymmnos is the three words that assign degree, emotion, and context, the core of the Burnish tongue is the verbs. They change to reflect our emotions and targets.”

“Wow, that’s…” Galo struggled to find words to describe such a dynamic language. “Really something. And it connects you, too? What kind of song server can do something like that?”

“We don’t know. What we do know is that our fire is alive. We hear its cries. ‘I want to burn hotter! I want to blaze with glory!’ It is our duty as Burnish to fulfill these wishes.” Lio looked back at the group of people gathered around the fire, then hopped off his perch and went over to a heavily bandaged girl, crouching to her level. “Thyma, please hang in there. Gueira and Meis will be back with the trucks soon.”

“What happened to her?” Galo asked before interjecting with his own solution. “I can help. I have medical supplies on my bike, and I received emergency medical training. I know some healing song magic, too.”

“No need. Your people and the Foresight Foundation’s experiments are what happened to her.” Lio looked down at Thyma, sucked in a breath, and appeared to give her a glowing, fiery, soft kiss. Soft piano chords rang out as he activated another song magic to heal her. When he pulled away, she stirred briefly before going still once more. The cave went silent, and soon, Thyma’s body began to crumble into pale ashes. Lio closed his eyes and murmured a quiet chant. “ _xU yorr mUrN ag nUdN_. Rest in peace.”

“You have burned to ashes and disappeared,” someone off to the side supplied as a translation.

“What just happened? And what do you mean, ‘Foresight Foundation’s experiments?!’” Galo asked, staring at the diminishing pile of ashes where the girl had been. “Why did she turn to dust?”

“Ash,” Lio corrected. “The fire burns from our bodies. As long as we live, our bodies are eternally regenerated by the flames. Once we die, our bodies can no longer contain our power, and we turn to ash. That is the fate of the Burnish.”

Before Galo could object, Meis appeared from behind Lio. “Boss, we’ve got the trucks,” he announced. His gaze went to Thyma’s ashes, and Galo thought he saw the lanky Burnish general wince.

“Understood. It’s not safe for us to stay here for too long,” Lio said. “Let’s go.”

Without further ado, the Burnish gathered in the cave began to leave in clusters. “You could live like normal people if you just didn’t burn things!” Galo called out at Lio’s retreating form.

“Do you really think it’s that simple? As long as the song of our fire still exists, the Foresight Foundation will continue to cut us apart and experiment on us, even if we are still human beings!” Lio grimaced as his anger surged through him.

“That can’t be! The governor would never do that!” Galo pulled at his bonds in vain.

“Keep living in denial,” Lio hissed, then finally left Galo to his fate.

With nothing more but the shrinking pile of ashes to keep him company, Galo tried to process the night’s revelations along with his glimpse into the nature of Burnish song magic. It wasn’t enough that his picture of what a Burnish was had been completely upended, but the implication of Kray Foresight performing horrendous experiments on the Burnish people unsettled him on a deep level. Once he got out of the cave, he had some investigation to do.


End file.
